Trump: Bergdahl 'catastrophe'

Donald Trump said Monday that the “terrible” deal for the release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl puts other American soldiers in harm’s way.

“It’s a terrible deal we made, a terrible deal,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” during an interview on Monday morning. “Every soldier and every American is at risk now.”

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On Saturday, President Barack Obama announced that the last U.S. captive in Afghanistan had been set free. Bergdahl, 28, was handed over to the U.S. in exchange for the release of five Afghan detainees in custody at the U.S. prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

“I think it’s going to turn out to be one catastrophe,” said Trump, the author of “The Art of the Deal.” “They think they’re doing it for political reasons; I think it will end up being a political nightmare.”

He added, “It’s the gang that can’t shoot straight, that’s our leadership. But you can’t do this, you can’t set this kind of precedent and it puts every American solider and actually every American in danger. There is no question about it, this is a horrible trade.”

Trump is not the first to question this deal. On Sunday, Rep. Adam Kinzinger said that the trade-off was “ shocking” on NBC’s “Meet the Press” and Sen. John McCain labeled the release of Gitmo prisoners as “ disturbing” on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel have both stood by the decision to release five prisoners in exchange for Bergdahl on Sunday talk shows, but Trump, a negotiation expert, says that the Obama administration needs to brush up on its skills.